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Scottie Scheffler is playing so well his caddie is out-earning Rory McIlroy

April 23, 2024
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Warren Little

Let’s get this out of the way first: Rory McIlroy’s bank account will be just fine. According to Forbes, the golfer was 15th among the World’s Highest-Paid Athletes in 2023, and if Spotrac’s numbers are right, he’s earned at least $141,849,731 over his career. The Northern Irishman has four majors and 24 PGA Tour wins, so he’ll be OK with this one unfavorable comparison.

Just over a month ago, Scott made $850,000 over eight days, which (at the time) was more than World No. 2 Rory McIlroy had made over the calendar year. With another Masters win, an RBC Heritage victory and a ho-hum Houston Open T-2 under his belt since then, Scott is now at a projected $1,776,880 if the usual 10-percent caddie win payout holds. That’s a ludicrous amount of money four months into the year for most people, let alone a looper. And yes … that still beats out Rory.

McIlroy has tallied up $1.7M thus far in 2024, which is more than enough to make ends meet but not enough to best Scheffler’s right-hand man.

Will we see Scott on his very own Forbes list soon? The way Scheffler's playing, it's not out of the question.

Scott has caddied for quite a few stars from Bubba Watson to Grant Waite to Paul Azinger to Olin Browne, but Scheffler is probably the most lucrative. Scott almost retired back in 2021 too, after splitting ways with Watson, but a call from Scheffler began yet another fulfilling (and productive) partnership.

Since taking over Scheffler's bag at the end of 2021, Scott's estimated earnings are projected at around $5 million. Talk about jumping in at the right time. He also now has FOUR Masters victories, two with Scheffler and two with Watson. It may be time to put Scott on a Golf Digest cover.

A former mini-tour pro, Scott’s a solid player in his own right, but we don’t see him severing ties with Scheffler anytime soon. The money and wins are adding up. Might as well just enjoy the ride and make McIlroy jealous that he’s not on Scheffler’s bag.